National Tourism Year 2015 to spotlight world heritage

Hanoi, March 13 (VNA)- Vietnam’s National Tourism Year 2015 themed “Connecting world heritage” will be launched in the central province of Thanh Hoa on April 3, the provincial People’s Committee announced at the March 12 press conference. As scheduled, the launching week will start from March 1 with a series of cultural and tourism activities. The opening ceremony, which will be broadcast live on national and local television channels, will introduce a number of UNESCO-recognised cultural heritages, popular tourism destinations of Vietnam, while highlighting the country’s key cultural events and the link in tourism development among localities having world heritage sites. Tourism strength and potential of Vietnam and Thanh Hoa in particular will be promoted to visitors through the event, aiming to encourage all walks of life to join hands in preserving and upholding the value of world heritage sites and fostering sustainable tourism development. After the week, the programme will run throughout the year across the province. It also attracts the participation of 15 cities and provinces that house world heritage, such as Hanoi capital and Phu Tho and Quang Ninh provinces. Outstanding events include a marine tourist festival in late April, an international stone sculpture camp in May, a cuisine festival in June, and cultural and art festivals. The National Tourism Year 2015 is a great opportunity for Thanh Hoa to popularise tangible and intangible cultural values and beautiful landscapes of Vietnam and its own so as to promote the national and provincial images. Vietnam is home to 22 world heritage recognised by the UNESCO, including two natural heritage sites (Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park); five cultural heritage (the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, the Complex of Hue Monuments, Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Sanctuary), and one mixed heritage (Trang An Landscape Complex). Thanh Hoa is located on mountainous-midland, lowland, and coastal terrains which are said to be favourable for developing tourism. It strives to make this industry spearhead its socio-economic development. The province aims to welcome around 120,000 foreign tourist arrivals and over 5 million domestic visitors in the year and earn 105 million USD in revenues from tourism activities.-VNA